The tradable levels for imported billet prices in China have declined again after some pause, following some further weakening of the local market. So, trading has almost stopped and most foreign suppliers have been focusing on the Southeast Asian import market.
The local average billet price in China has lost RMB 100/mt ($15/mt) since last Thursday to RMB 4,785/mt ex-warehouse, which corresponds to $645/mt, excluding 13 percent VAT, according to SteelOrbis’ data.
In northern China, the acceptable level for imported billet is at $620/mt CFR at the highest, sources said, adding that most Chinese traders are either not bidding or are asking for closer to $600/mt CFR. The highest tradable level, taking into account the local quotations, is at $640-650/mt CFR in the eastern province of Jiangsu. But “this is a rather nominal price, I don’t see anyone looking for buying,” a trader said.
The previous deal for imported billet to China was reported at $650/mt CFR for ex-Russia material, while this week the SteelOrbis reference price for imported billet in China has slipped to $620-630/mt CFR, down by $30/mt from last week.
At the same time, Russian suppliers have focused on the East and Southeast Asian markets. After a sale of a big tonnage to Taiwan at $650/mt CFR a week ago, a new deal has been heard to Indonesia for 15,000 mt of ex-Russia billet at $665/mt CFR for June shipment. “This is close to what buyers were looking for here due to low rebar prices,” a source from Indonesia said. The price for ex-Russia billet has been at a discount to all other origins with ex-Iran billet offered at $705/mt CFR at the lowest and ex-ASEAN billet at $725-730/mt CFR and above to Indonesia and Thailand.